Interview by Matt. L. Stephens,the Coloradoan

Inside Info

Question: What drove your 28-point performance at Nevada on Wednesday?

Answer: I talked to coach (Leonard) Perry and (Larry) Eustachy before the game and they were just really telling me I needed to get my practice onto the floor and go out there and be aggressive. It kind of just happened through the flow of things.

Q: You started off the season strong, but seemed to cool down come Mountain West play. Is there any reason behind that?

A: It was really just me not giving my best kind of performance that I do on a daily basis in practice. Coaches were kind of disappointed in me in that aspect, so I had to refocus and put that on the court Wednesday.

Q: You posted up quite a few Nevada defenders. Who’s better at the post-up, you or Colton Iverson?

A: Oh, definitely Colton. I kind of just take my opportunities because I’m only down there if I feel I have a miss-match, but (Iverson) is a beast.

Q: You and Daniel Bejarano seem to be the two players Eustachy gets after the most during games. How do you respond to him in your face?

A: I feel like I should be doing the right things all the time, so when coach has to do that, I feel bad almost that I’m letting him and my teammates down, so it fuels me in a way. You just have to go out there and focus and put more thought in what you’re doing because coach is right, and when we’re not putting much thought into what we’re doing, we’re pretty average ball players.

Q: What’s been the best part of this season?

A: Winning and beating people on the road. This is probably the quickest Colorado State has gotten to 19 wins, and going to someone else’s floor and getting a win is a fun thing we’ve done this year.

Q: How confident was your team that this season would be better than last year before it even started?

A: We all knew what we had sitting on the bench, especially with Colton and Daniel, so there were some horses coming in that were going to really make a difference. We were confident this was going to be a good year and then we go out and get a great coach in Eustachy to put it all together, so the sky is the limit.

Q: What will you miss most about CSU after you graduate?

A: It won’t be school, I can tell you that. Probably the fans. You meet a lot of nice people here, like some of the boosters, and I know I’m going to keep them with me as I move forward in life. A lot of it will be just the relationships with fans because I’ve gotten to know a lot of the people in the community the four years I’ve been here.

Q: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

A: Mexicali.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Blue Chips,” with Shaq and everyone.

Q: Is that where your Twitter handle (@ButchMcCray_RaN) comes from?

A: Uh huh. Penny Hardaway (who plays Butch McCray in “Blue Chips”) is my favorite player ever. I got his trading cards still, out here in Fort Collins, I got jersey for a present, a few pairs of his shoes. That’s just my favorite player ever.